General News
5 October, 2023
Gold bash this weekend in Laanecoorie
LODDON communities are set for their biggest weekend since COVID stopped events in their tracks almost three years ago. The inaugural Loddon Valley Arts Trail will finally launch after aborted attempts in 2021 and 2022 when COVID and then floods...
LODDON communities are set for their biggest weekend since COVID stopped events in their tracks almost three years ago.
The inaugural Loddon Valley Arts Trail will finally launch after aborted attempts in 2021 and 2022 when COVID and then floods scuppered plans to showcase local creatives.
More than 40 artists will have works on display across the region on Saturday and Sunday.
Whole Loddon Love music tour also kicks off this weekend with the first flood recovery concerts in Pyramid Hill, Boort and Newbridge.
The tour, a State Government-funded initiative, will culminate locally in Bridgewater on October 14, the first anniversary of major floods hitting local communities for a second time in 11 years.
Producer Fionna Allan said: “I encourage folks to jump online and register for their free tickets - so we have an idea of how many people are coming, and we don’t run out of food or drinks!”
Funds raised at the local concerts will be donated to community organisations.
Outdoor major events are also on the weekend calendar with Boort’s Saturday morning parkrun that attracts participants from many areas each week notching up its first anniversary.
And at Laanecoorie, gold detecting enthusiasts will be out in their hundreds for the town’s annual gold bash.
The gold bash is a fundraiser for the Peter McCallum Cancer Foundation in honour of one of the event’s founders, Jim Stewart, who passed away from cancer in 2013.
Organiser Di Hodgson said the bash had raised more than $180,000 for the foundation and would add to the total this year.
Bash officials are expecting more than 500 people will be part of treasure hunts with the first competitors already in the district for the weekend’s event.
The blockbuster weekend has also seen strong bookings for accommodation in Loddon communities with Whole Loddon Love expected to attract music fans from Melbourne and other regional areas.
The start of October also heralds other major events this month including the Boort Show and Back to Bridgewater with Inglewood Alive in November.